Automated symbol upgrade and symbol removal during link and respin feature

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for providing symbol upgrade features in games. An illustrative method includes receiving a first input from a player interacting with a gaming device initiating a first play of a game, where the game comprises an array of cells. The method further includes determining that a randomly-generated first distribution of symbols includes a common symbol in a first cell and a second cell. The method further includes upgrading a cell in the array of cells with an upgrade symbol, where the upgrade symbol represents that the common symbol in the first cell and the second cell have been combined into the upgrade symbol in response to determining that the first cell and the second cell include the common symbol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of and claims the benefit ofand priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/212,123, filed Mar.25, 2021, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is generally directed to gaming systems and, inparticular, toward gaming systems that enable link and respin operationsfor grid-based games.

Gaming machines typically offer a number of built-in game play featuresthat contribute to the overall player experience. Any type of game playfeature that presents the player with an additional opportunity to winis often viewed as desirable and can lead to increased play of thegaming machine.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a gamingdevice, a method, and a system that provide automated symbol upgrade andsymbol removal functions during a link and respin feature. In someembodiments, a gaming device is provided, include: a display; aprocessor coupled to the display; and a memory coupled with theprocessor and storing therein instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to: initiate a first play of a game,where the game includes an array of cells; render, by the display inresponse to initiating the first play of the game, a first distributionof symbols in the array of cells, where each cell in the array of cellsincludes a discrete symbol in the first distribution of symbols;determine that the first distribution of symbols includes a commonsymbol in a first cell and a second cell; upgrade a cell in the array ofcells with an upgrade symbol, where the upgrade symbol represents thatthe common symbol in the first cell and the second cell have beencombined into the upgrade symbol in response to determining that thefirst cell and the second cell include the common symbol; initiate asecond play of the game, where the second play of the game occurs afterthe first play of the game; and render, by the display in response toinitiating the second play of the game, a second distribution of symbolsin the array of cells, where the cell includes the upgrade symbol in thesecond distribution of symbols and where cells in the array of cellsother than the cell comprise a new discrete symbol in the seconddistribution of symbols.

In some embodiments, a method is provided, including: receiving, by aprocessor, a first input from a player interacting with a gaming deviceinitiating a first play of a game, where the game includes an array ofcells; rendering, by a display of the gaming device in response toreceiving the first input, a randomly-generated first distribution ofsymbols in the array of cells, where each cell in the array of cellsincludes a discrete symbol in the randomly-generated first distributionof symbols; determining, with the processor, that the randomly-generatedfirst distribution of symbols includes a common symbol in a first celland a second cell; upgrading, with the processor, a cell in the array ofcells with an upgrade symbol, where the upgrade symbol represents thatthe common symbol in the first cell and the second cell have beencombined into the upgrade symbol in response to determining that thefirst cell and the second cell includes the common symbol; initiating,with the processor, a second play of the game; and rendering, by thedisplay in response to initiating the second play of the game, a seconddistribution of symbols in the array of cells, where the cell includesthe upgrade symbol in the second distribution of symbols and where cellsin the array of cells other than the cell include a new discrete symbolin the second distribution of symbols.

In some embodiments, a system is provided, including: a processor; and amemory, coupled with the processor, including instructions that areexecutable by the processor, where the instructions include instructionsthat: initiate a first play of a game, where the game includes an arrayof cells; cause a first distribution of symbols to be displayed in thearray of cells, where each cell in the array of cells includes adiscrete symbol in the first distribution of symbols; determine that afirst cell and a second cell both include a common symbol in the firstdistribution of symbols; determine that the first cell is adjacent tothe second cell; upgrade the first cell with an upgrade symbol, wherethe upgrade symbol represents that the common symbol in the first celland the second cell have been combined into the upgrade symbol inresponse to determining that the first cell and the second cell bothinclude the common symbol and in response to determining that the firstcell is adjacent to the second cell; initiate a second play of the game,where the second play of the game occurs after the first play of thegame; and cause a second distribution of symbols to be displayed in thearray of cells, where the first cell comprises the upgrade symbol in thesecond distribution of symbols and where cells in the array of cellsother than the first cell include a new discrete symbol in the seconddistribution of symbols.

Additional features and advantages are described herein and will beapparent from the following Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A depicts one example of a computational gaming device forenabling enhanced gaming features and symbol upgrade operations;

FIG. 1B depicts another example of a computational gaming device forenabling enhanced gaming features and symbol upgrade operations;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting components of a computational gamingdevice for enabling enhanced gaming features and symbol upgradeoperations;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative layout of symbols rendered to an array ofcells of a game;

FIG. 4A illustrates one example of a first distribution of symbols in anarray of cells where at least two adjacent cells include a common symboltherein;

FIG. 4B illustrates a transition from the first distribution of symbolsshown in FIG. 4A where an automated symbol upgrade operation has beenperformed in response to determining that at least two adjacent cellsinclude a common symbol therein;

FIG. 4C illustrates a second distribution of symbols after the symbolupgrade operation shown in FIG. 4B is performed and after a respinfeature has been invoked;

FIG. 5A illustrates another example of a first distribution of symbolsin an array of cells where two or more adjacent cells include a commonsymbol therein;

FIG. 5B illustrates a transition from the first distribution of symbolsshown in FIG. 5A where an automated symbol upgrade operation has beenperformed in response to determining that two or more adjacent cellsinclude a common symbol therein;

FIG. 5C illustrates a second distribution of symbols after the symbolupgrade operation shown in FIG. 5B is performed and after a respinfeature has been invoked;

FIG. 6A illustrates another example of a distribution of symbols in anarray of cells where two or more adjacent cells include a common symboltherein and where another cell also includes an upgrade symbol;

FIG. 6B illustrates a transition from the distribution of symbols shownin FIG. 6A where an automated symbol upgrade operation has beenperformed in response to determining that two or more adjacent cellsinclude a common symbol therein;

FIG. 6C illustrates another transition from the distribution of symbolsshown in FIG. 6B where two upgrade symbols are further upgraded to amulti-upgrade symbol;

FIG. 7A illustrates another example of a first distribution of symbolsin an array of cells where two or more adjacent cells include a commonsymbol therein;

FIG. 7B illustrates a transition from the first distribution of symbolsshown in FIG. 7A where an automated symbol upgrade operation has beenperformed in response to determining that two or more adjacent cellsinclude a common symbol therein and where a non-upgraded cell stillretains the common symbol after the symbol upgrade operation has beenperformed;

FIG. 7C illustrates a second distribution of symbols after the symbolupgrade operation shown in FIG. 7B is performed and after a respinfeature has been invoked;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example process for enabling a symbolupgrade operation in a game; and

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example process for combining multipleupgrade symbols into a multi-upgrade symbol.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in connectionwith gaming systems having one or multiple gaming devices that arecapable of providing improved game features. Illustratively, a symbolupgrade and/or symbol removal feature are described as being featuresthat can be automatically performed in response to a first distributionof symbols exhibiting certain predetermined characteristics. In someexamples described herein, when the first distribution of symbols has atleast two adjacent cells containing a common symbol, then an automatedsymbol upgrade and/or symbol remove feature may be performed.

Symbol hold and respin mechanics can be used in many different types ofgames. A familiar hold and respin mechanic that provides chances toupgrade wins and make room for more win opportunities during a respincan increase player excitement and game desirability. Certain hold andrespin games are popular, but somewhat simple in their implementation.Embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate improvements to holdand respin games by increasing anticipation for growing wins in alimited game real estate (e.g., within the limited number of cells).

The symbol upgrade and/or symbol removal processes, which may or may notbe automated, will be described as being performed in connection with alink and respin feature, but it should be appreciated that embodimentsof the present disclosure are not so limited. Furthermore, whileexamples of the present disclosure will be described in connection withgames that present an array of cells (e.g., slot games, reel-basedgames, etc.) that are primarily known as games of chance, it should beappreciated that the symbol upgrade and/or symbol removal processes canalso be provided in other game types (e.g., games of skill, games ofchance and skill, games of chance with bonus games of skill,non-reel-based games, etc.).

Gaming devices described herein may include a computational device, suchas a slot machine or Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM), that implements asymbol upgrade and/or symbol removal process. While embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be described in connection with the example of aslot machine, or EGM implementing symbol upgrade and/or symbol removaloperations, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not so limited. For instance, other types ofcomputational devices, such as portable user devices, smartphones,tablets, laptops, Personal Computers (PCs), wearable devices, etc. maybe used to implement game enhancement features as part of a game asdescribed herein. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that embodimentsof the present disclosure may apply to games other than slot games orreel-based games. For instance, embodiments of the present disclosuremay be used in connection with any type of game such as bingo, keno,slots, matching games, table games, etc.

The symbol upgrade operations and associated features may be activated,as described herein, during play of a game (e.g., a grid-based game),after a play of the game, and/or prior to a play of the game. Asmentioned above, improved symbol operation may be made available withinthe context of a slot game, a matching game, a bingo game, a keno game,a poker machine, a game of skill, or in any other game that awardsparticular symbol combinations relative to positions on a userinterface.

Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure provide aplayer with more ways to win a game, heightened anticipation duringgameplay, the ability to alter the chances of winning in a game, theability to alter the payout amount for a winning game outcome, and addexcitement to the overall game-playing experience of games.

With reference now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an illustrative computationaldevice 100 that may be used to implement a grid-based game or the likewill be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. A computational device 100 may include a portable ornon-portable device used for executing a gaming application or multipledifferent gaming applications without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Non-limiting examples of a computational deviceinclude an EGM, a Video Gaming Machine (VGM), a mobile communicationdevice (e.g., a smartphone, laptop, tablet, wearable device, etc.), apersonal computer (PC), etc. An EGM or VGM-type of computational device100 is shown in FIG. 1A in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The illustrative computational device 100 of FIG. 1A is shown to includea support structure, housing or cabinet, 102 which provides support fora plurality of displays, inputs, controls and other features of aconventional gaming machine. In the illustrated embodiment, a playerplays the computational device 100 while sitting, however, thecomputational device 100 is alternatively configured so that a playercan operate it while standing or sitting. The illustrated computationaldevice 100 is positioned on the floor but can be positionedalternatively (i) on a base or stand, (ii) as a pub-style table-topgame, (iii) as a stand-alone computational device on the floor of acasino with other stand-alone computational devices, or (iv) in anyother suitable manner. The computational device 100 can be constructedwith varying cabinet and display configurations.

In one embodiment, a computational device 100 is configured to randomlygenerate awards and/or other game outcomes based on probability data.Since a computational device 100 generates outcomes randomly or basedupon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that thecomputational device 100 will provide the player with any specific awardor other game outcome.

In some embodiments, a computational device 100 may employ apredetermined or finite set or pool of awards, progressive awards,prizes or other game outcomes. In such an embodiment, as each award orother game outcome is provided to the player, the computational device100 removes the provided award or other game outcome from thepredetermined set or pool. Once removed from the set or pool, thespecific provided award or other game outcome cannot be provided to theplayer again. The computational device 100 may provide players with someor all of the available awards or other game outcomes over the course ofa play cycle and may or may not guarantee a designated number of actualwins and losses.

The computational device 100 may include one or more displays 112. Anillustrative display 112 may include a credit display that displays aplayer's current number of credits, cash, account balance or theequivalent. Another illustrative display 112 may include a bet displaythat displays a player's amount wagered.

The computational device 100 is also shown to include at least onepayment acceptor. Illustrative payment acceptors may include, withoutlimitation, a coin slot 124, where the player inserts coins or tokens,and a ticket, note, or bill acceptor 128, where the player inserts abar-coded ticket, note, or cash. In one embodiment, a player-trackingcard, credit card, debit card, or data card reader/validator 132 is alsoprovided for accepting any of those or other types of cards as a form ofpayment toward playing a game on the computational device 100.

In one embodiment, a player inserts an identification card into cardreader 132 of computational device 100. The identification card can be asmart card having a programmed microchip or a magnetic strip coded witha player's identification, credit totals, and other relevantinformation. In one embodiment, money may be transferred to a creditmeter of the computational device 100 through an electronic fundtransfer and card reader 132 using the player's credit, debit, or smartcard. When a player funds the computational device 100, a processor ofthe computational device 100 may determine the amount of funds enteredand the corresponding amount is shown on the credit or other suitabledisplay 112 as described herein.

In one embodiment, after appropriate funding of computational device100, the player presses an input device 108 to initiate game play. Theinput devices 108 may include various types of buttons, levers, gestureinputs, cameras, etc., that enable a player to start any game play orsequence of events. In one embodiment, upon appropriate funding,computational device 100 begins game play automatically. In anotherembodiment, the player may be required to actuate or activate one of theplay buttons to initiate play of computational device 100. Othernon-limiting types of input devices 108 may include a “bet one” button,a “max bet” button, or any other type of button known to be included inan EGM, VGM, or the like. It should further be appreciated that theinput devices 108 may correspond to a physical button, a virtual buttonon a touch-screen of a game, an input element on a Graphical UserInterface (GUI), or a combination thereof. In other words, the inputdevices 108 do not need to correspond to a physical button. In someembodiments, the player places a bet by pushing a “bet one” button(e.g., betting an amount equal to one credit for the next play). Theplayer may increase the player's wager by one credit each time theplayer pushes “bet one” button. When the player pushes the “bet one”button, the number of credits shown in the credit display decreases byone, and the number of credits shown in the bet display increases byone. A “max bet” button can also be provided, which enables the playerto bet the maximum wager (e.g., max lines, max wager per line, andre-spin operation). The computational device 100 may include othersuitable wager buttons, such as a “repeat bet” button (e.g., repeatingthe bet made from the immediately last play of the computational device100 for the next play of the computational device 100), one or more“select paylines” buttons, a “select re-spin operation” button, and oneor more “select wager per payline” buttons.

Another type of input device 108 that may be provided on thecomputational device 100 is a physical cash out button, a virtual cashout button, a selectable GUI element, or the like. The player presses acash out button and cashes-out to receive a cash payment or othersuitable form of payment corresponding to the number of remainingcredits. The player can receive coins or tokens in a coin payout tray ora ticket or credit slip, which are redeemable by a cashier or funded tothe player's electronically-recordable identification card.

The computational device 100 may also include one or more displayscreens 104 and one or more sound generating devices 136. Thecombination of outputs provided on a display screen 104 and soundgenerating device 136 may contribute to the game play experience and, insome embodiments, may provide the player with information regarding astatus of a game play event or sequence of events.

In one embodiment, the sound generating device 136 may include at leastone speaker or other type of transducer for generating audible sounds,playing music, etc. In one embodiment, a computational device 100provides dynamic sounds coupled with attractive multimedia imagesdisplayed on the display screen 104 to provide an audio-visualrepresentation or to otherwise display full-motion video with sound toattract players to the computational device 100. During idle periods,the computational device 100 displays a sequence of audio and/or visualattraction messages to attract potential players to the computationaldevice 100.

In one embodiment, a base or primary game includes a slot game with oneor more paylines 120. As will be discussed in further detail herein, thegame provided by the computational device 100 may support one ormultiple paylines 120, which may extend across the display screen 104vertically, horizontally, diagonally, at adjusted angles, etc. In someembodiments, such as for a slot game, a payline 120 intersects aplurality of reels 116, such as three to five reels. Each reel 116 maybe used to display different sets of symbols in connection with gameplay activity provided by the computational device 100. In someembodiments, each reel 116 may operate independent of all other reelsand the symbols displayed by a reel 116 at the end of a given spin maydepend upon random numbers generated by the computational device 100.The positions of symbols on each reel 116 and in the combination ofreels 116 may form the array of symbols distributed throughout an arrayof cells. The distribution of symbols may be presented in a presentationorder rendered to the display screen 104 of the computational device100.

The reels 116 may be provided in video form with simulated reels beingdisplayed via the display screen 104. A reel 116 may be used to displayany number of symbols such as bells, hearts, fruits, numbers, letters,bars or other images and symbols, which could correspond to a themeassociated with a game provided by the computational device 100. Thecomputational device 100 may be configured to award prizes, awards, orother game play opportunities when the reels 116 stop spinning and aparticular symbol combination is intersected by an active payline 120(e.g., a payline 120 that is currently being wagered and is subject toevaluation for a win after the reels 116 have stopped spinning and adistribution of symbols is finalized).

FIG. 1B illustrates another example of a computational device 100 inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.This particular example of computational device 100 may correspond to aportable computational device 100 such as a mobile smartphone, tablet,wearable, etc. The computational device 100 may be owned by a user ofthe device 100 rather than being owned by a casino operator. In otherembodiments, the portable computational device 100 may be owned by acasino operator and provided to a player for an amount of time, possiblyunder an agreement between the casino operator and the player. As anexample, the portable computational device 100 may be assigned to theplayer for a duration of their visit or stay at the casino, but theportable computational device 100 may be returned by the player back tothe casino operator after the visit or stay has concluded.

The computational device 100 includes a display screen 104, a pluralityof input devices 108, and at least one speaker 136. In some embodiments,the display screen 104 may correspond to a touch-sensitive displayscreen, meaning that the display screen 104 is simultaneously capable ofdisplaying information (e.g., in connection with game play activity) andreceiving a user input. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive displayscreen 104 may provide game features similar to a cabinet-stylecomputational device 100 without requiring all of the dedicated buttonsprovided by a cabinet-style computational device 100.

With reference now to FIG. 2 , additional details of the components thatmay be included in a computational device 100 will be described inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thecomputational device 100 is shown to include a processor 204, memory208, a network interface 212, and a user interface 216. In someembodiments, the processor 204 may correspond to one or manymicroprocessors, Central Processing Units (CPUs), microcontrollers,Integrated Circuit (IC) chips, or the like. The processor 204 may beconfigured to execute one or more instruction sets stored in memory 208.In some embodiments, the instruction stored in memory 208, when executedby the processor 204, may enable the computational device 100 to providegame play functionality as described herein.

The nature of the network interface 212 may depend upon whether thenetwork interface 212 is provided in cabinet-style computational device100 or a mobile computational device 100. Examples of a suitable networkinterface 212 include, without limitation, an Ethernet port, a UniversalSerial Bus (USB) port, an RS-232 port, an RS-485 port, a networkinterface controller (NIC), an antenna, a driver circuit, amodulator/demodulator, a Slot Machine Interface Board (SMIB), etc. Thenetwork interface 212 may include one or multiple different networkinterfaces depending upon whether the computational device 100 isconnecting to a single communication network or multiple different typesof communication networks. For instance, the computational device 100may be provided with both a wired network interface 212 and a wirelessnetwork interface 212 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The user interface 216 may include a combination of the user input anduser outputs described in connection with FIGS. 1A and 1B. For instance,the user interface 216 may include the display screen 104, the inputdevices 108, the speakers 136, or any other component that is capable ofenabling user interaction with the computational device 100. The userinterface 216 may also include one or more drivers for the varioushardware components that enable user interaction with the computationaldevice 100.

The memory 208 may include one or multiple computer memory devices thatare volatile or non-volatile. The memory 208 may be configured to storeinstructions that enable player interaction with the computationaldevice 100 and that enable game play at the computational device 100.Examples of instructions that may be stored in the memory 208 includegame instructions 220, symbol upgrade instructions 228, symbol removalinstructions 232, and/or respin instructions 236. In addition to theinstructions, the memory 208 may also be configured to store a randomnumber generator 240 that is used by the game instructions 220, forexample, to provide game outputs. The memory 220 may also be configuredto store a wager credit meter 224 that is used to securely store wagerhistory, available credit information, and other data related to wagersplaced and game outcomes that occur at the computational device 100.

In some embodiments, the game instructions 220, when executed by theprocessor 204, may enable the computational device 100 to facilitate oneor more games of chance or skill and produce interactions between theplayer and the game of chance or skill. In some embodiments, the gameinstructions 220 may include subroutines that present one or moregraphics to the player via the user interface 216, subroutines thatcalculate whether a particular wager has resulted in a win or lossduring the game of chance or skill, subroutines for determining payoutsfor the player in the event of a win, subroutines for exchangingcommunications with another device, such as a server, etc. The gameinstructions 220 may also be configured to call certain otherinstructions stored in memory 208 for purposes of enhancing gameplayfeatures for a player. As an example, the game instructions 220 may beconfigured to automatically call symbol upgrade instructions 228, symbolremoval instructions 232, and/or respin instructions 236 based on alayout of symbols within an array of cells. For example, the gameinstructions 220 may be configured to automatically call the symbolupgrade instructions 228 and/or symbol removal instructions 232 inresponse to evaluating a distribution of symbols and determining that atleast two adjacent cells include a common symbol.

When called by the game instructions 220, the processor 204 may thenautomatically begin executing the symbol upgrade instructions 228 and/orsymbol removal instructions 232 to upgrade a cell, remove one or moresymbols from a cell, and the like. In a non-limiting example, the symbolupgrade instructions 228 and symbol removal instructions 232 may beautomatically executed by the processor 204 prior to processing respininstructions 236 that allow a player to implement a respin opportunity.While depicted as separate instructions, it should be appreciated thatthe respin instructions 236 may be included as part of the gameinstructions 220. When executed by the processor 204, the respininstructions 236 may invoke a respin operation in which some or all ofthe cells in the array of cells are subject to a respin (e.g., subjectto having a new discrete symbols placed therein). In some embodiments, acell that has been upgraded to include an upgrade symbol or the like maynot be subject to a respin whereas all other cells in the array of cellsmay still be subject to the respin. In this example, the cell that isupgraded by the symbol upgrade instructions 228 may retain an upgradesymbol after the respin such that a distribution of symbols after therespin still includes the upgrade symbol in the cell that was upgradedprior to the respin.

In some embodiments, the game instructions 220 may be configured toinitiate a reel spin at the various reels 116 in connection with gameplay. In some embodiments, the random number generator 240 may be usedto determine a final position of the reels 116 after the spin iscompleted. Alternatively or additionally, the game instructions 220and/or respin instructions 236 may utilize an output from the randomnumber generator 240 to determine a distribution of symbols in the arrayof cells. The game instructions 220 may also be configured to presentsymbols via the display screen 104 when the reels 116 correspond tovideo reels or the like. The game instructions 220 may also beconfigured to evaluate a position of symbols relative to one or morepaylines 120, relative to predetermined symbol areas, or cells in anarray of cells, and any other evaluation desired to facilitate gameplay.

The credit meter 224 may be used to store or log information related tovarious player activities and events that occur at the computationaldevice 100. The types of information that may be maintained in thecredit meter 224 include, without limitation, player identificationinformation, available credit information, wager amount information,game outcomes, and other types of information that may or may not needto be recorded for purposes of accounting for wagers placed at thecomputational device 100 and payouts made for a player during a game ofchance or skill played at the computational device 100.

In some embodiments, the credit meter 224 may be configured to trackcoin in activity, coin out activity, coin drop activity, jackpot paidactivity, credits applied activity, external bonus payout activity,voucher in activity, voucher out activity, timing of events that occurat the computational device 100, and the like. In some embodiments,certain portions of the credit meter 224 may be updated in response tooutcomes of a game of chance or skill played at the computational device100.

While shown as separate instructions, it should be appreciated that thesymbol upgrade instructions 228, symbol removal instructions 232, and/orrespin instructions 236 may correspond to a subroutine of the gameinstructions 220 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Additional details and functional capabilities of the symbolupgrade instructions 228, symbol removal instructions 232, and/or respininstructions 236 working in cooperation with the game instructions 220will be described in connection with FIGS. 3-9 .

The computational device 100 is further shown to include a ticketissuance device 244, a ticket acceptance device 248, a cash in device252, and a cash out device 256. The ticket issuance device 244 may beconfigured to receive physical tickets, vouchers, or player loyaltycards. In some embodiments, the ticket issuance device 244 and ticketacceptance device 248 may operate in concert with the ticket acceptor128. In such an embodiment, the ticket acceptor 128 may correspond tothe physical components that receive and issue a ticket or voucherwhereas the ticket issuance device 244 and the ticket acceptance device248 correspond to the drivers and/or firmware components that controloperation of the ticket acceptor 128. It should also be appreciated thatthe card reader 132 may be in communication with the ticket issuancedevice 244 and the ticket acceptance device 248 and may havefunctionality driven by one or both of these devices. For instance, thecard reader 132 may correspond to the physical hardware components thatreceive information from a player loyalty card (or player loyaltyapplication running on a mobile communication device, etc.) and thatinformation may be processed by the ticket acceptance device 248 whenreceiving player credits from cards read by the card reader 132. Theticket issuance device 244 may provide the card reader 132 withinformation for applying wager credits back to a player card when aplayer is done with a game play session and wishes to transfer creditsfrom the credit meter 224 back onto their card. Thus, the ticketissuance device 244 and ticket acceptance device 248 may also operate asa driver and/or firmware component for the card reader 132.

Similarly, the cash in device 252 and cash out device 256 may include oroperate in concert with the coin slot 124 and any coin deliverymechanisms. The cash in device 252 and cash out device 256 may includehardware, drivers, or firmware that facilitate receiving or distributingcash, tokens, bills, etc. In some embodiments, the cash in device 252may be configured to determine an amount of cash (e.g., in coins, bills,etc.), an amount or number of tokens, etc., input at the coin slot 124and convert the values into credits for playing games with the gameinstructions 220. The cash out device 256 may correspond to hardware andsoftware configured to output coins, tokens, bills, etc. if a playerdecides to cash out or convert playing credits back into cash, tokens,bills, etc.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 to 7C, various operations of the gameinstructions 220, the symbol upgrade instructions 228, the symbolremoval instructions 232, and/or the respin instructions 236 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Referring initially to FIG. 3 , a first distribution ofsymbols 316 rendered to an array of cells 304 of a game will bedescribed in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thearray of cells 304 may be presented, or otherwise rendered, with thedisplay screen 104. In some embodiments, the game instructions 220 maycontrol which particular symbols 316 are presented within a particularcell 312 in the array of cells 304. The illustrative array of cells 304is shown to include five columns 116 a, 116 b, 116 c, 116 d, 116 e ofcells 312 and five rows 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, 308 d, 308 e of cells 312.Although FIG. 3 illustrates a 5×5 array of cells 304, it should beappreciated that embodiments of the present disclosure can beimplemented in an array of cells 304 having a variety of sizes. Forinstance, embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in an arrayof cells 304 that are 3×3, 3×5, 5×3, 7×3, 10×5, 10×10, etc. The examplelayout of the array of cells 304 should not be construed as limitingembodiments of the present disclosure.

As can be seen in FIG. 3 , each cell 312 in the array of cells 304 maybe populated with a single symbol 316. In other words, after the gameinstructions 220 has applied a random number generator 232 to determinesymbol 316 placement throughout the array of cells 304, there may be a1:1 correlation of symbols 316 to cells 312. Each column 116 a, 116 b,116 c, 116 d, 116 e may also be referred to as a reel 116, particularlyin the event that the game instructions 220 provides a slot game. If aslot game is implemented, then the reels 116 (e.g., in video form) arespun (e.g., virtually) and their final position after the spin isdetermined, at least in part, based on the output of the random numbergenerator 232. In some embodiments, a symbol 316 may correspond to anabsence of a symbol or a blank symbol. This blank symbol may correspondto a symbol in a cell 312 having no value.

In some embodiments, payouts or other predetermined game outcomes (e.g.,bonus spin opportunities, prize wins, cash wins, re-spin bonus plays,etc.) may be determined based on a symbol combination that falls on apayline 120 that is subject to a wager prior to the spin. In someembodiments, a plurality of the paylines 120 may be selected for “play”prior to a spin, meaning that any payline 120 selected for “play” willbe evaluated for a predetermined symbol combination, or sequence ofsymbols 316. Examples of a sequence of symbols 316 may include, but arein no way limited to, at least one of the sequence [A; 1; F; 6; K]associated with the first row 308 a, the sequence [B; 2; G; 7; L]associated with the second row 308 b, the sequence [C; 3; H; 8; M]associated with the third row 308 c, the sequence [D; 4; I; 9; N]associated with the fourth row 308 d, the sequence [E; 5; J; 10; O]associated with the fifth row 308 e, and/or reverse sequences of thesame. Additionally or alternatively, the sequence of symbols 316 mayinclude, but are in no way limited to, a sequence of symbols 316 in anorder along one or more of the vertical lines of cells 312 associatedwith the columns 116 a-116 e (e.g., the sequence [A; B; C; D; E], thesequence [1; 2; 3; 4; 5], etc., and/or reverse sequences of the same).In some embodiments, the sequence of symbols 316 may include, but are inno way limited to, a sequence of symbols 316 in an order along one ormore of the cells 312 having a payline 120 running therethrough (e.g.,the first diagonal payline sequence [A; 2; H; 9; O], the second diagonalpayline sequence [E; 4; H; 7; K], the first vertical payline sequence[A; B; C; D; E], the first horizontal payline sequence [C; 3; H; 8; M],etc., and/or reverse sequences of the same). In one embodiment, thesequence of symbols may comprise all sequences of symbols associatedwith each row 308 a-308 e and/or column 116 a-116 e. A selected payline120 may also correspond to the payline 120 that is evaluated after arespin, but was wagered prior to the respin. In some embodiments,however, it may be possible to switch or select more paylines 120 forevaluation after a spin has completed, but before a subsequent playoperation (e.g., respin, etc.) has been performed. The addition of morepaylines 120 after the original spin but prior to the subsequent playoperation may require the user to provide more credits to the gameinstructions 220 as part of enabling evaluation over more paylines 120.Although shown having four different linear paylines 120 (e.g.,horizontal, vertical, diagonal, etc.), one or more paylines 120 may beassociated with cells 312 in any shape the array of cells 304. In oneembodiment, a payline 120 may run through a single row 308 a-308 e ofthe array of cells 304 (e.g., first row 308 a, etc.). In someembodiments, a payline 120 may run through one or more columns 116 a-116e in the array of cells 304. In any event, embodiments of the presentdisclosure are not limited to the position and/or shape of the paylines120 shown in FIGS. 3-5B.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4C, a first illustrative game play sequencethat can be performed by the processor 204 in response to executing thegame instructions 220, the symbol upgrade instructions 228, the symbolremoval instructions 232, and/or the respin instructions 236 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate variouspresentations that are caused to be rendered by a display screen 104 ofa computational device 100.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a first distribution of symbols 316 in the array ofcells 304 may result in at least some of the cells 312 being populatedby a common symbol 404. In some embodiments, the first distribution ofsymbols 316 may be determined by the game instructions 220 and based, atleast in part, on an output of the random number generator 240.

FIG. 4A further illustrates that some cells 312 having the common symbol404 may be adjacent to one another whereas other cells 312 having thecommon symbol 404 may not necessarily be adjacent to another cell 312having the common symbol 404. In the illustrated example, a first cell312 a, second cell 312 b, and third cell 312 c are shown to include thecommon symbol 404 in the first distribution of symbols.

The game instructions 220 may evaluate the first distribution of symbolsand determine that the first cell 312 a and second cell 312 b areadjacent to one another and include the common symbol 404. Upondetermining that the adjacent first cell 312 a and second cell 312 bboth include the common symbol 404, the game instructions 220 may callthe symbol upgrade instructions 228 and/or symbol removal instructions232 to implement an automated symbol upgrade and/or symbol removaloperation prior to invoking the respin instructions 236.

While the example of FIG. 4A shows the first cell 312 a and second cell312 b as being laterally adjacent to one another, it should beappreciated that two or more cells having any particular relativeposition to one another may be considered adjacent. For instance, thefirst cell 312 a and second cell 312 b may be considered adjacent if thetwo cells are vertically adjacent to one another, diagonally adjacent toone another, or satisfy any other predetermined relative position. Forexample, the cell 312 located at the first row 308 a, second column 116b may be considered adjacent to a cell 312 located anywhere within thefirst row 308 a, anywhere within the second column 116, or the like.Alternatively or additionally, the cell 312 located at the first row 308a, second column 116 may be considered adjacent to a cell 312 located atthe second row 308 b, first column 116 and/or a cell 312 located at thesecond row 308 b, third column 116 c.

In addition to evaluating the adjacency of cells, the game instructions220 may also be configured to evaluate which, if any, cells 312 includea common symbol 404. As discussed above, symbols 316 may be provided inany number of possible forms. Non-limiting examples of symbols 316 thatmay correspond to a common symbol 404 include bells, hearts, fruits,numbers, letters, bars, etc. For instance, the common symbol 404 maycorrespond to a number (e.g., “50”, “100”, etc.) that is displayedwithin a particular cell 312.

Upon determining that the first cell 312 a and the second cell 312 bboth include the common symbol 404 and are adjacent to one another, thegame instructions 220 may call the symbol upgrade instructions 228and/or symbol removal instructions 232 to invoke an automated symbolupgrade and/or removal operation. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B, acell 312 in the array of cells 304 may be automatically upgraded by thesymbol upgrade instructions 228 to include an upgrade symbol 408. Theupgrade symbol 408 may represent that the common symbol 404 in the firstcell 312 a and the second cell 312 b have been combined. The upgradesymbol 404 may be retained in the first cell 312 a during a respinoperation. In the meantime, the second cell 312 b may not necessarily beupgraded to include the upgrade symbol 408. In this situation, thesymbol removal instructions 232 may remove the common symbol 404 fromthe second cell 312 b simultaneous with, before, or after the upgradesymbol 408 has been placed into the first cell 312 a. Upon having thecommon symbol 404 removed from the second cell 312 b, the symbol removalinstructions 232 may cause a different symbol (e.g., “8”) to bepresented in the second cell 312 b. Alternatively or additionally, thesymbol removal instructions 232 may cause the second cell 312 b to haveno symbol 316 presented therein at least until a respin operation isperformed.

FIG. 4C illustrates a second distribution of symbols 316 that may bepresented after the respin instructions 236 have been invoked. In thisexample, the first cell 312 a is still shown to include the upgradesymbol 408, even after the respin operation has been performed. Thus,the symbol upgrade instructions 228 may have informed the respininstructions which cell(s) 312 were subject to a respin and whichcell(s) 312 were not subject to a respin. In the second distribution ofsymbols 316 shown in FIG. 4C, the upgrade symbol 408 was retained in thefirst cell 312 a (e.g., the cell 312 subject to the upgrade process)while all cells 312 other than the first cell 312 a were subject to therespin. Each cell 312 other than the first cell 312 a may have a newdiscrete symbol 316 assigned thereto. It could be possible that a cell312 receives the same symbol from one distribution to the next, but thesymbol 316 distribution may still be determined based on the output ofthe random number generator 240. For instance, FIG. 4C illustrates thesecond cell 312 b as containing the symbol “8” in the seconddistribution of symbols. It may be possible, however, that the secondcell 312 b receives the common symbol 404 again, after the respin.

The second distribution of symbols 316 may be automatically initiated bythe game instructions 220 and/or respin instructions 236. Alternatively,some form of player input may be required to initiate a second play ofthe game, which results in the second distribution of symbols 316.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A-5C, a second illustrative game play sequencethat can be performed by the processor 204 in response to executing thegame instructions 220, the symbol upgrade instructions 228, the symbolremoval instructions 232, and/or the respin instructions 236 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5A shown a first distribution of symbols 316 that is different fromthe first distribution of symbols 316 shown in FIG. 4A. Specifically,now the first distribution of symbols 316 is shown to include threeadjacent cells 312 with the common symbol 404. Again, the common symbol404 may correspond to any suitable symbol available for use by the gameinstructions 220. Here the first cell 312 a, the second cell 312 b, andthe third cell 312 c are each shown to include the common symbol 404 andall three cells are shown to be adjacent to one another.

The game instructions 220 may evaluate the first distribution of symbols316 and determine that three adjacent cells 312 include the commonsymbol 404. This determination may cause the game instructions 220 toinvoke the symbol upgrade instructions 228 and/or symbol removalinstructions 232 prior to invoking the respin instructions 236. Thesymbol upgrade instructions 228 and/or symbol removal instructions 232may cause a cell 312 to be upgraded to include an upgrade symbol 408 asshown in FIG. 5B.

In the example of FIG. 5B, the upgraded cell 312 corresponds to thefirst cell 312 a. It should be appreciated that the symbol upgradeinstructions 228 do not necessarily need to upgrade the first cell 312 awith the upgrade symbol 408. As an example, the symbol upgradeinstructions 228 may select the second cell 312 b and/or third cell 312c to become the upgraded cell 312 (e.g., the cell 312 designated toreceive the upgrade symbol 408). Alternatively or additionally, thesymbol upgrade instructions 228 could select a cell 312 other than thefirst cell 312 a, second cell 312 b, and third cell 312 c to become theupgraded cell 312. As an example, the cell 312 at the second row 308 b,second column 116 b could be selected to become the upgraded cell 312and receive the upgrade symbol 408. At this point, the non-upgradedcells 312 (which may include some or all of the first cell 312 a, secondcell 312 b, and third cell 312 c) may be subject to a respin operationand receiving a new symbol 316.

FIG. 5C illustrates a second distribution of symbols 316 after respinand after the first cell 312 a has been upgraded to include the upgradesymbol 408. In some embodiments, the upgrade symbol 408 represents thatthe common symbol 404 in the first cell 312 a, second cell 312 b, andthird cell 312 c were combined. In an example where the common symbol404 corresponds to a number, the upgrade symbol 408 may correspond to anumber of cells 312 involved in the upgrade (e.g., three in the exampleof FIGS. 5A-5C) times a value of the number. Illustratively, if thecommon symbol 404 corresponds to a number of “100”, then the upgradesymbol 408 in FIGS. 5B and 5C could correspond to a number of “300.” Inanother example where the common symbol 404 corresponds to an icon orgraphic, such as a cherry, the upgrade symbol 408 may correspond to amultiple of the icon or graphic (e.g., triple cherries). In anotherexample, the upgrade symbol 408 does not necessarily need to correspondto a summation of all common symbols 404 involved in the upgrade, butthe upgrade symbol 408 could still correspond to a symbol 316 having ahigher value than the common symbol 404. Again considering the exampleof the common symbol 404 corresponding to a number of “100”, the upgradesymbol 408 could correspond to a number having a value greater than“100” (e.g., “150”, “200”, “500”, “1000”, etc.). In some examples, avalue associated with the upgrade symbol 408 may be determined byapplying a multiplier to a value associated with the common symbol 404,but the multiplier can be a number greater than one and possibly greaterthan the number of cells 312 involved in the upgrade operation.

Referring now to FIGS. 6A-6C, a third illustrative game play sequencethat can be performed by the processor 204 in response to executing thegame instructions 220, the symbol upgrade instructions 228, the symbolremoval instructions 232, and/or the respin instructions 236 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6A illustrates a distribution of symbols 316, which may correspondto a distribution before or after a respin. In this particular example,the distribution of symbols 316 is shown to correspond to a distributionafter a first respin, but before a second respin. Here, a first cell 312a is already shown to have the upgrade symbol 408 whereas other cells(e.g., a fourth cell 312 d, a fifth cell 312 e, and a sixth cell 312 f)include the common symbol 404. As an example, the upgrade symbol 408 mayhave been placed into the first cell 312 a following a symbol upgradeoperation like the ones described in connection with FIGS. 4A-4C and/orFIGS. 5A-5C. Alternatively, the upgrade symbol 408 may have been placedinto the first cell 312 a by the game instructions 220.

The other cells containing the common symbol 404 may now be subject to asymbol upgrade process based on the processor 204 executing the symbolupgrade instructions 228. Moreover, the symbol upgrade instructions 228may be configured to select a cell to be upgraded based on the positionof the upgrade symbol 408 already in the first cell 312 a. Bydetermining the fourth cell 312 d is adjacent to the first cell 312 a,the symbol upgrade instructions 228 may select the fourth cell 312 d tobe upgraded based on its adjacency to the first cell 312 a, which mayprovide the opportunity to further upgrade the upgrade symbols 408 aswill be described herein.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the fourth cell 312 d isupgraded to include the upgrade symbol 408, there are now two adjacentcells that include common symbols in the form of the upgrade symbol 408.At this point, the symbol upgrade instructions 228 may perform asubsequent upgrade process that selects another cell for a furtherupgrade. Again, the symbol upgrade instructions 228 may select the firstcell 312 a, the fourth cell 312 d, or some other cell as the cell 312 tobe upgraded.

FIG. 6C illustrates the first cell 312 a being selected as the cell 312to be upgraded based on the adjacency of the upgrade symbols 408. Thesymbol upgrade instructions 228 may then update and upgrade the firstcell 312 a to include a multi-upgrade symbol 604 and the cells 312previously having the common symbol 404 and/or upgrade symbol 408 mayhave their symbols removed and may be subject to a respin operation. Themulti-upgrade symbol 604 may include an increased value relative to theupgrade symbol 408. Illustratively, the multi-upgrade symbol 604 mayrepresent that the upgrade symbols 408 have been combined into themulti-upgrade symbol 604.

While the transition from FIGS. 6B to 6C is illustrated as providing amulti-upgrade symbol 604 across multiple spins, it should be appreciatedthat embodiments of the present disclosure also contemplatemulti-upgrades within the same spin. For example, after a single spin, afirst set of symbols 316 may be upgraded to an upgrade symbol 408 andthen that upgrade symbol 408 may be combined with another upgrade symbol408 to create a multi-upgrade symbol 604. The multiple upgrades may beperformed without requiring a second spin. More specifically, multipleupgrades may be performed within the same spin based on an optimizedplacement of the initial upgrade symbol 408. As an example, two or moresymbols 316 may be optimally combined into an upgrade symbol 408 to havethe upgrade symbol 408 land adjacent to another upgrade symbol 408,thereby resulting in the two upgrade symbols 408 automatically combininginto the multi-upgrade symbol 604. In other words, the cell 312 thatreceives the upgrade symbol 408 may be selected based on proximity toanother symbol 316 that will provide an opportunity for a multi-upgradesymbol 604.

Referring now to FIGS. 7A-7C, a fourth illustrative game play sequencethat can be performed by the processor 204 in response to executing thegame instructions 220, the symbol upgrade instructions 228, the symbolremoval instructions 232, and/or the respin instructions 236 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7A illustrates a first cell 312 a being diagonally adjacent to asecond cell 312 b, and both cells including the common symbol 404. Uponidentifying the common symbol 404 in adjacent cells 312, the gameinstructions 220 may invoke the symbol upgrade instructions 228 toselect a cell to be upgraded.

FIG. 7B shows an example where the second cell 312 b is selected to beupgraded. In this example, the second cell 312 b is upgraded to includethe upgrade symbol 408 rather than the common symbol 404. This examplealso shows that the common symbol 404 is still retained in the firstcell 312 a, which was not upgraded in the same way that the second cell312 b was upgraded. This may correspond to an example where the symbolupgrade instructions 228 were utilized by the symbol removalinstructions 232 were not utilized by the game instructions 220.

Once the second cell 312 b is upgraded to include the upgrade symbol408, the respin instructions 236 may be invoked to initiate a respin.The respin may cause a second distribution of symbols 316 to bepresented in the array of cells 304 as shown in FIG. 7C. In thisparticular second distribution of symbols 316, the first cell 312 a wasnot subject to respin and still retains the common symbol 404.Similarly, the second cell 312 b was not subject to respin and maintainsthe upgrade symbol 408 in the second distribution of symbols 316. Allother cells 312 in the array of cells 304 is shown to receive a newdiscrete symbol in the second distribution of symbols 316.

With reference now to FIG. 8 , a flow diagram illustrating a method ofperforming a symbol upgrade and symbol removal process during a link andrespin game feature will be described in accordance with at least someembodiments of the present disclosure. The method begins when a firstinput is received at the computational device 100 (step 804). The firstinput may correspond to a player input provided to any one of the inputor input/output devices included in the computational device 100. Thefirst input may correspond to a simple press of a button, a press of ascreen, a pull of a lever, or any other gesture that is recognizable bythe computational device 100. The first input may also include anyaction performed by the player, which may include a card in action, acoin in action, a ticket in action, etc.

In response to receiving the input, the method continues with the gameinstructions 220 requesting an output from the random number generator240 and then using the output received from the random number generator240 to generate a first distribution of symbols 316 for a first play(step 808). The first distribution of symbols 316 may correspond to aninitial spin during gameplay, a respin, a bonus spin, or any otheractivity supported by the game instructions 220.

The first distribution of symbols may then be rendered by thecomputational device 100 for display to a player of the computationaldevice 100 (step 812). In some embodiments, the first distribution ofsymbols may be analyzed by the game instructions 220 to determine if anycells 312 in the array of cells 304 includes a common symbol 404 (step816). The analysis may initially be performed by searching all symbols316 in the first distribution of symbols 316 for common symbols 404 andthen evaluating whether or not the cells 312 containing the commonsymbol 404 are adjacent to one another (e.g., diagonal, laterally,vertically, etc.). In another approach, the analysis of step 816 may beperformed by analyzing all adjacent cells 312 to determine if anyadjacent cells 312 include a common symbol 404.

If the game instructions 220 identify two or more adjacent cells asincluding a common symbol 404, then the game instructions 220 maydetermine than an upgrade opportunity is possible for the firstdistribution of symbols 316 (step 820). In response to detecting anupgrade opportunity based on adjacent cells 312 having a common symbol404, the method may continue with the game instructions 220 calling thesymbol upgrade instructions 228 to upgrade at least one cell 312 in thearray of cells 304 to include an upgrade symbol 408 (step 824). The atleast one cell 312 that is upgraded to include the upgrade symbol 408may or may not include a cell 312 that contained the common symbol 404.Likewise, more than one cell 312 may be selected as a cell 312 to beupgraded without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The game instructions 220 may also invoke the symbol removalinstructions 232 to optionally remove symbols 316 from other cells 312(step 828). As an example, cells 312 that were involved in the upgrade(e.g., adjacent cells 312 that included the common symbol 404 but werenot upgraded to include the upgrade symbol 408) may have their symbolsremoved at step 828. As another example, some or all cells 312 otherthan the one selected to be upgraded may have their symbols 316 removedprior to a respin operation.

Thereafter, or in response to determining that no upgrade opportunitywas available, the method may continue with the game instructions 220invoking a respin operation (step 832). In some embodiments, the respinoperation may be performed by the respin instructions 236 and mayinvolve requesting another output from the random number generator 240.The output of the random number generator 240 may be used to generate asecond distribution of symbols 316 for a second play of the game. Thissecond play may be considered a respin operation or a similar processwhere the cells 312 other than the cell 312 being upgraded to includethe upgrade symbol 408 are subject to receiving new symbols 316. Inother words, the upgraded cell 312 may retain the upgrade symbol 408 inthe second distribution of cells 316 whereas other cells 312 not subjectto upgrade may receive a new discrete symbol 316 in the seconddistribution of symbols 316.

The second distribution of symbols 316 may then be presented to theplayer of the computational device 100 by rendering the symbols 316 inthe cells 312 subject to the respin (step 836). The method may alsoinvolve the game instructions 220 determining one or more game outcomesbased on the second distribution of symbols 316 (step 840). As anexample, the game outcome may be determined by evaluating a combinationof symbols 316 that intersect a payline 120 subject to wager. Thecombination of symbols 316 that intersect the payline 120 subject towager may contribute to a determined payout or winning value. In someembodiments, the combination of symbols 316 that intersect the payline120 may include the upgrade symbol 408. In such a situation, a valueassociated with the upgrade symbol 408 may be determined by applying amultiplier to a value associated with the common symbol 404.Furthermore, the value associated with the combination of symbols mayinclude at least the value associated with the upgrade symbol 408 aswell as any other symbols in the combination of symbols. A credit meter224 may be updated based on a value of the combination of symbols thatintersect the payline 120. Alternatively or additionally, thecombination of symbols on the payline 120 may cause the gameinstructions 220 to determine that additional respin opportunities havebeen won by the player and further respin availability may be updatedwith the respin instructions 236.

With reference now to FIG. 9 , a flow diagram illustrating a method ofperforming a multi-upgrade process during a link and respin game featurewill be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The method begins with the game instructions 220determining that first, second, and third adjacent cells 312 eachinclude a common symbol 404 (step 904). The game instructions 220 maythen invoke the symbol upgrade instructions 228 to select a cell toupgrade based on the analysis of cells surrounding the first, second,and third cells 312 (step 908). In particular, the symbol upgradeinstructions 228 may search for a cell 312 that, if upgraded, is mostlikely to result in a further or multi-upgrade opportunity for theplayer.

The symbol upgrade instructions 228 may then upgrade the selected cell312 to include an upgrade symbol 408, which represents that the commonsymbol 404 has been combined into the upgrade symbol 408 (step 912).Following the first upgrade, the game instructions 220 may re-evaluatethe array of cells 304 to analyze the cells 312 that are adjacent to theupgraded cell 312 (e.g., the cell 312 that now includes the upgradesymbol 408) (step 916).

Based on the analysis performed in step 916, the game instructions 220may determine if any of the adjacent cells include the upgrade symbol408 (step 920). The existence of the upgrade symbol 408 in multipleadjacent cells 312 may be the result of multiple upgrade processes beingperformed on different sets of adjacent cells 312. Alternatively oradditionally, the existence of the upgrade symbol 408 in multipleadjacent cells 312 may be the result of a single upgrade process beingperformed for one cell 312 and another cell 312 having the upgradesymbol 408 initially assigned thereto after a first gameplay.

If the query of step 920 is answered affirmatively, the symbol upgradeinstructions 228 may be invoked to upgrade at least one cell 312 toinclude a multi-upgrade symbol 604 (step 924). Thereafter, or in theevent that the query of step 920 was answered negatively, the method maycontinue by generating a second distribution of symbols 316 for a secondplay of the game (step 928). The second distribution of symbols 316 maystill include the multi-upgrade symbol 604 in the cell 312 that wasupgraded by the symbol upgrade instructions 228 whereas all other cells312 may be subject to receiving a new symbol 316 based on a randomoutput.

The second distribution of symbols 316 may then be presented to theplayer of the computational device 100 by rendering the distribution ofsymbols 316 in the array of cells 304 (step 932). The rendering may beperformed with any suitable output device of the computational device100. The method may also involve the game instructions 220 determiningone or more game outcomes based on the second distribution of symbols316 (step 936). As an example, the game outcome may be determined byevaluating a combination of symbols 316 that intersect a payline 120subject to wager. The combination of symbols 316 that intersect thepayline 120 subject to wager may contribute to a determined payout orwinning value. In some embodiments, the combination of symbols 316 thatintersect the payline 120 may include the multi-upgrade symbol 604. Insuch a situation, a value associated with the multi-upgrade symbol 604may be determined by applying a multiplier to a value associated withthe common symbol 404, by applying a multiplier to a value associatedwith the upgrade symbol 408, or combinations thereof. Furthermore, thevalue associated with the combination of symbols may include at leastthe value associated with the multi-upgrade symbol 604 as well as anyother symbols in the combination of symbols. A credit meter 224 may beupdated based on a value of the combination of symbols that intersectthe payline 120. Alternatively or additionally, the combination ofsymbols on the payline 120 may cause the game instructions 220 todetermine that additional respin opportunities have been won by theplayer and further respin availability may be updated with the respininstructions 236.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used.It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosurewithout providing others.

The present disclosure contemplates a variety of different gamingsystems each having one or more of a plurality of different features,attributes, or characteristics. A “gaming system” as used herein refersto various configurations of: (a) one or more central servers, centralcontrollers, or remote hosts; (b) one or more electronic gaming machinessuch as those located on a casino floor; and/or (c) one or more personalgaming devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, tabletcomputers or computing devices, personal digital assistants, mobilephones, and other mobile computing devices. Moreover, an EGM as usedherein refers to any suitable electronic gaming machine which enables aplayer to play a game (including but not limited to a game of chance, agame of skill, and/or a game of partial skill) to potentially win one ormore awards, wherein the EGM comprises, but is not limited to: a slotmachine, a video poker machine, a video lottery terminal, a terminalassociated with an electronic table game, a video keno machine, a videobingo machine located on a casino floor, a sports betting terminal, or akiosk, such as a sports betting kiosk.

In various embodiments, the gaming system of the present disclosureincludes: (a) one or more electronic gaming machines in combination withone or more central servers, central controllers, or remote hosts; (b)one or more personal gaming devices in combination with one or morecentral servers, central controllers, or remote hosts; (c) one or morepersonal gaming devices in combination with one or more electronicgaming machines; (d) one or more personal gaming devices, one or moreelectronic gaming machines, and one or more central servers, centralcontrollers, or remote hosts in combination with one another; (e) asingle electronic gaming machine; (f) a plurality of electronic gamingmachines in combination with one another; (g) a single personal gamingdevice; (h) a plurality of personal gaming devices in combination withone another; (i) a single central server, central controller, or remotehost; and/or (j) a plurality of central servers, central controllers, orremote hosts in combination with one another.

For brevity and clarity and unless specifically stated otherwise, “EGM”as used herein represents one EGM or a plurality of EGMs, “personalgaming device” as used herein represents one personal gaming device or aplurality of personal gaming devices, and “central server, centralcontroller, or remote host” as used herein represents one centralserver, central controller, or remote host or a plurality of centralservers, central controllers, or remote hosts.

As noted above, in various embodiments, the gaming system includes anEGM (or personal gaming device) in combination with a central server,central controller, or remote host. In such embodiments, the EGM (orpersonal gaming device) is configured to communicate with the centralserver, central controller, or remote host through a data network orremote communication link. In certain such embodiments, the EGM (orpersonal gaming device) is configured to communicate with another EGM(or personal gaming device) through the same data network or remotecommunication link or through a different data network or remotecommunication link. For example, the gaming system includes a pluralityof EGMs that are each configured to communicate with a central server,central controller, or remote host through a data network.

In certain embodiments in which the gaming system includes an EGM (orpersonal gaming device) in combination with a central server, centralcontroller, or remote host, the central server, central controller, orremote host is any suitable computing device (such as a server) thatincludes at least one processor and at least one memory device or datastorage device. As further described herein, the EGM (or personal gamingdevice) includes at least one EGM (or personal gaming device) processorconfigured to transmit and receive data or signals representing events,messages, commands, or any other suitable information between the EGM(or personal gaming device) and the central server, central controller,or remote host. The at least one processor of that EGM (or personalgaming device) is configured to execute the events, messages, orcommands represented by such data or signals in conjunction with theoperation of the EGM (or personal gaming device). Moreover, the at leastone processor of the central server, central controller, or remote hostis configured to transmit and receive data or signals representingevents, messages, commands, or any other suitable information betweenthe central server, central controller, or remote host and the EGM (orpersonal gaming device). The at least one processor of the centralserver, central controller, or remote host is configured to execute theevents, messages, or commands represented by such data or signals inconjunction with the operation of the central server, centralcontroller, or remote host. One, more than one, or each of the functionsof the central server, central controller, or remote host may beperformed by the at least one processor of the EGM (or personal gamingdevice). Further, one, more than one, or each of the functions of the atleast one processor of the EGM (or personal gaming device) may beperformed by the at least one processor of the central server, centralcontroller, or remote host.

In certain such embodiments, computerized instructions for controllingany games (such as any primary or base games and/or any secondary orbonus games) displayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device) areexecuted by the central server, central controller, or remote host. Insuch “thin client” embodiments, the central server, central controller,or remote host remotely controls any games (or other suitableinterfaces) displayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device), and theEGM (or personal gaming device) is utilized to display such games (orsuitable interfaces) and to receive one or more inputs or commands. Inother such embodiments, computerized instructions for controlling anygames displayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device) are communicatedfrom the central server, central controller, or remote host to the EGM(or personal gaming device) and are stored in at least one memory deviceof the EGM (or personal gaming device). In such “thick client”embodiments, the at least one processor of the EGM (or personal gamingdevice) executes the computerized instructions to control any games (orother suitable interfaces) displayed by the EGM (or personal gamingdevice).

In various embodiments in which the gaming system includes a pluralityof EGMs (or personal gaming devices), one or more of the EGMs (orpersonal gaming devices) are thin client EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) and one or more of the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) arethick client EGMs (or personal gaming devices). In other embodiments inwhich the gaming system includes one or more EGMs (or personal gamingdevices), certain functions of one or more of the EGMs (or personalgaming devices) are implemented in a thin client environment, andcertain other functions of one or more of the EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) are implemented in a thick client environment. In one suchembodiment in which the gaming system includes an EGM (or personalgaming device) and a central server, central controller, or remote host,computerized instructions for controlling any primary or base gamesdisplayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device) are communicated fromthe central server, central controller, or remote host to the EGM (orpersonal gaming device) in a thick client configuration, andcomputerized instructions for controlling any secondary or bonus gamesor other functions displayed by the EGM (or personal gaming device) areexecuted by the central server, central controller, or remote host in athin client configuration.

In certain embodiments in which the gaming system includes: (a) an EGM(or personal gaming device) configured to communicate with a centralserver, central controller, or remote host through a data network;and/or (b) a plurality of EGMs (or personal gaming devices) configuredto communicate with one another through a communication network, thecommunication network may include a local area network (LAN) in whichthe EGMs (or personal gaming devices) are located substantiallyproximate to one another and/or the central server, central controller,or remote host. In one example, the EGMs (or personal gaming devices)and the central server, central controller, or remote host are locatedin a gaming establishment or a portion of a gaming establishment.

In other embodiments in which the gaming system includes: (a) an EGM (orpersonal gaming device) configured to communicate with a central server,central controller, or remote host through a data network; and/or (b) aplurality of EGMs (or personal gaming devices) configured to communicatewith one another through a communication network, the communicationnetwork may include a wide area network (WAN) in which one or more ofthe EGMs (or personal gaming devices) are not necessarily locatedsubstantially proximate to another one of the EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) and/or the central server, central controller, or remote host.For example, one or more of the EGMs (or personal gaming devices) arelocated: (a) in an area of a gaming establishment different from an areaof the gaming establishment in which the central server, centralcontroller, or remote host is located; or (b) in a gaming establishmentdifferent from the gaming establishment in which the central server,central controller, or remote host is located. In another example, thecentral server, central controller, or remote host is not located withina gaming establishment in which the EGMs (or personal gaming devices)are located. In certain embodiments in which the communication networkincludes a WAN, the gaming system includes a central server, centralcontroller, or remote host and an EGM (or personal gaming device) eachlocated in a different gaming establishment in a same geographic area,such as a same city or a same state. Gaming systems in which thecommunication network includes a WAN are substantially identical togaming systems in which the communication network includes a LAN, thoughthe quantity of EGMs (or personal gaming devices) in such gaming systemsmay vary relative to one another.

In further embodiments in which the gaming system includes: (a) an EGM(or personal gaming device) configured to communicate with a centralserver, central controller, or remote host through a data network;and/or (b) a plurality of EGMs (or personal gaming devices) configuredto communicate with one another through a communication network, thecommunication network may include an internet (such as the Internet) oran intranet. In certain such embodiments, an Internet browser of the EGM(or personal gaming device) is usable to access an Internet game pagefrom any location where an Internet connection is available. In one suchembodiment, after the EGM (or personal gaming device) accesses theInternet game page, the central server, central controller, or remotehost identifies a player before enabling that player to place any wagerson any plays of any wagering games. In one example, the central server,central controller, or remote host identifies the player by requiring aplayer account of the player to be logged into via an input of a uniqueplayer name and password combination assigned to the player. The centralserver, central controller, or remote host may, however, identify theplayer in any other suitable manner, such as by validating a playertracking identification number associated with the player; by reading aplayer tracking card or other smart card inserted into a card reader; byvalidating a unique player identification number associated with theplayer by the central server, central controller, or remote host; or byidentifying the EGM (or personal gaming device), such as by identifyingthe MAC address or the IP address of the Internet facilitator. Invarious embodiments, once the central server, central controller, orremote host identifies the player, the central server, centralcontroller, or remote host enables placement of one or more wagers onone or more plays of one or more primary or base games and/or one ormore secondary or bonus games, and displays those plays via the Internetbrowser of the EGM (or personal gaming device). Examples ofimplementations of Internet-based gaming are further described in U.S.Pat. No. 8,764,566, entitled “Internet Remote Game Server,” and U.S.Pat. No. 8,147,334, entitled “Universal Game Server.”

The central server, central controller, or remote host and the EGM (orpersonal gaming device) are configured to connect to the data network orremote communications link in any suitable manner. In variousembodiments, such a connection is accomplished via: a conventional phoneline or other data transmission line, a digital subscriber line (DSL), aT-1 line, a coaxial cable, a fiber optic cable, a wireless or wiredrouting device, a mobile communications network connection (such as acellular network or mobile Internet network), or any other suitablemedium. The expansion in the quantity of computing devices and thequantity and speed of Internet connections in recent years increasesopportunities for players to use a variety of EGMs (or personal gamingdevices) to play games from an ever-increasing quantity of remote sites.Additionally, the enhanced bandwidth of digital wireless communicationsmay render such technology suitable for some or all communications,particularly if such communications are encrypted. Higher datatransmission speeds may be useful for enhancing the sophistication andresponse of the display and interaction with players.

As should be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of thepresent disclosure have been illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “circuit,” “module,” “component,” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readable mediahaving computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized.The computer readable media may be a computer readable signal medium ora computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage mediummay be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium wouldinclude the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an appropriateoptical fiber with a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted usingany appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C #, VB.NET,Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, suchas the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL2002, PUP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby andGroovy, or other programming languages. The program code may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as aservice such as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Aspects of the present disclosure have been described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods,apparatuses (systems) and computer program products according toembodiments of the disclosure. It should be understood that each blockof the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinationsof blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmableinstruction execution apparatus, create a mechanism for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that when executed can direct a computer, otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions when stored in thecomputer readable medium produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions which when executed, cause a computer to implement thefunction/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable instruction execution apparatus, or otherdevices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer, other programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more,” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: initiating a first play ofa game, wherein the game presents an array of cells; rendering, by thedisplay in response to initiating the first play of the game, a firstdistribution of symbols in the array of cells, wherein each cell in thearray of cells comprises a discrete symbol in the first distribution ofsymbols; determining that the first distribution of symbols comprises acommon symbol in a first cell and a second cell; upgrading a cell in thearray of cells with an upgrade symbol, wherein the upgrade symbolrepresents that the common symbol in the first cell and the second cellhave been combined into the upgrade symbol in response to determiningthat the first cell and the second cell comprise the common symbol, andwherein the cell that is upgraded with the upgrade symbol comprises thefirst cell; removing the common symbol from the second cell at leastuntil a second play of the game is initiated, wherein the second cell isempty at least until the second play of the game is performed;initiating the second play of the game, wherein the second play of thegame occurs after the first play of the game; and rendering, by thedisplay in response to initiating the second play of the game, a seconddistribution of symbols in the array of cells, wherein the cellcomprises the upgrade symbol in the second distribution of symbols andwherein cells in the array of cells other than the cell comprise a newdiscrete symbol in the second distribution of symbols.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: generating a game outcome based on thesecond distribution of symbols in the array of cells; and updating acredit meter based on the game outcome.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising: determining a location of a payline; evaluating acombination of symbols in the second distribution of symbols thatintersect the payline; and updating the credit meter based on a valueassociated with the combination of symbols in the second distribution ofsymbols that intersect the payline.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe combination of symbols includes the upgrade symbol, wherein a valueassociated with the upgrade symbol is determined by applying amultiplier to a value associated with the common symbol, and wherein thevalue associated with the combination of symbols comprises at least thevalue associated with the upgrade symbol.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the cells other than the cell include the second cell, whereinremoving the common symbol from the second cell subjects the second cellto the second play of the game, and further comprising: determining thata third cell in the first distribution of symbols also comprises theupgrade symbol; and upgrading the third cell with a multi-upgradesymbol, wherein the multi-upgrade symbol represents that the upgradesymbol in the first cell and the third cell have been combined into themulti-upgrade symbol in response to determining that the first cell andthe third cell comprise the upgrade symbol.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining that a third cell in the firstdistribution of symbols comprises the common symbol; and assigning avalue to the upgrade symbol that represent at least three times a valueof the common symbol.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first celland the second cell are adjacent to one another and wherein upgradingthe cell with the upgrade symbol is conditioned upon the common symbolappearing in adjacent cells.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the firstcell and the second cell are diagonally adjacent to one another.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising: increasing a number of spinsavailable to a player in response to upgrading the cell with the upgradesymbol.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first distribution ofsymbols is determined based on an output of a random number generator(RNG) and wherein all cells in the array of cells other than the cellcomprise the new discrete symbol.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst play of the game is initiated in response to receiving an inputfrom a player and wherein the second play of the game is automaticallyinitiated in response to upgrading the cell with the upgrade symbol. 12.A method, comprising: initiating a first play of a game, wherein thegame comprises an array of cells; causing a first distribution ofsymbols to be displayed in the array of cells, wherein each cell in thearray of cells comprises a discrete symbol in the first distribution ofsymbols; determining that a first cell and a second cell both comprise acommon symbol in the first distribution of symbols; determining that thefirst cell is adjacent to the second cell; upgrading the first cell withan upgrade symbol, wherein the upgrade symbol represents that the commonsymbol in the first cell and the second cell have been combined into theupgrade symbol in response to determining that the first cell and thesecond cell both comprise the common symbol and in response todetermining that the first cell is adjacent to the second cell; removingthe common symbol from the second cell at least until a second play ofthe game is initiated, wherein the second cell is empty at least untilafter the second play of the game; initiating the second play of thegame, wherein the second play of the game occurs after the first play ofthe game; and causing a second distribution of symbols to be displayedin the array of cells, wherein the first cell comprises the upgradesymbol in the second distribution of symbols and wherein cells in thearray of cells other than the first cell comprise a new discrete symbolin the second distribution of symbols.
 13. The method of claim 12,further comprising: determining a location of a payline relative to thearray of cells; evaluating a combination of symbols in the seconddistribution of symbols that intersect the payline; and updating acredit meter based on a value associated with the combination of symbolsin the second distribution of symbols that intersect the payline. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein the combination of symbols includes theupgrade symbol.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein a value associatedwith the upgrade symbol is determined by applying a multiplier to avalue associated with the common symbol.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein removing the common symbol from the second cell subjects thesecond cell to receiving a symbol other than the common symbol in thesecond distribution of symbols.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thevalue associated with the combination of symbols comprises at least thevalue associated with the upgrade symbol.
 18. The method of claim 12,further comprising: generating a game outcome based on the seconddistribution of symbols in the array of cells; and updating a creditmeter based on the game outcome.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein thefirst cell and the second cell are diagonally adjacent to one another.20. The method of claim 12, wherein the first distribution of symbols isdetermined based on an output of a random number generator (RNG) andwherein all cells in the array of cells other than the cell comprise thenew discrete symbol.